The pages in this section offer information and forms for current students in all the International Relations master's degree programs. Specific degree requirements can be found under the programs page, and progress reports for those programs can be found on the forms page.

Advising

All student advising is done through the Graduate Programs Administrator, Michael Williams, at 152 Bay State Road, Room 225. Students may stop by during office hours or make an advising appointment. To make an appointment, send an email to irgrad@bu.edu or call 617-353-9349.

Office hours

During the academic year, the Graduate Program Administrator will hold regular office hours each week, as listed below. Please note that these hours are not observed during the winter break between the Fall and Spring Semester, nor during the summer break. During those times of the year, please contact the Graduate Programs Administrator via email or phone to set up a time to meet.

Calendar

IR Department deadlines as well as many other helpful dates are posted on the IR Graduate Student Calendar. Click here to go to the Calendar section of the website.

Courses

There are many graduate level courses offered by the department on a wide variety of topics. Graduate students in the Department are allowed to enroll in graduate level courses outside the Department with prior approval from the Director of Graduate Studies. Additionally, there are several courses from other departments that have been pre-approved for any student to take. Please see the Core Requirements page for more information on these classes.

A complete list of the graduate level courses offered by the Department is available through the Courses pages. Dual level courses (numbered in the 500's) are open both to graduate students and to upper-class International Relations major undergraduates. 700 level specialty courses are open to graduate students only. Please note that not all classes are offered every semester. Students will need to consult the studentlink for a listing of course offerings for a specific semester.

Students may also register for a class through the cross-registration arrangment that Boston University has with several nearby universities. Schools included in this arrangement are: Boston College, Brandeis University, Tufts University (but not the Fletcher School), and Hebrew College. Students may cross-register for no more than one course per semester. More information on cross-registration may be found here.

Please note that GRS regulations state that students may not take more than two courses toward their degree outside of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Courses taken in other schools within Boston University as well as courses taken at other universities through cross-registration count against this total. Exception: Students in dual or joint degree programs with other schools within BU (IRIC, IRJD, IR/MBA) may, of course, take as many classes as they wish in the partner school.

Time to degree limits

Students are allowed a maximum of three academic years after the date of admission to complete their MA program. This time limit is a policy set by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Exception: students in one of the two Dual-degree programs, IRJD or IR/MBA, follow the time to degree limits of the Law School and Graduate School of Management, respectively. Students who fail to complete the degree requirements within this timeframe may be withdrawn from the program.

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